


Part One: A Conversation With Gemma Styles

by mediwitch3



Series: A Conversation With Gemma Styles [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Matchmaking, Pining, matchmaker!gemma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-30
Updated: 2012-09-30
Packaged: 2017-11-15 08:35:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/525339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mediwitch3/pseuds/mediwitch3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gemma is tired of Harry and Louis dancing around their feelings for each other, so she decides to take matters into her own hands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Part One: A Conversation With Gemma Styles

“You are so  _frustrating!”_  Harry snorted at his sister’s outburst.

“And why is that?” Gemma glared at him. He could see her gearing up for a long-winded explanation, and braced himself for what was coming.

“When are you going to learn that what you need is  _right in front of your face?”_  Harry looked her knowingly. He knew what this was about.

Ever since Louis had come home with him that first holiday, Gemma had not stopped yelling at him about their relationship. She had been, and remained to this day,  _convinced_  that they were in love with each other. When Louis had come home with him again on their next holiday, and then again on Christmas, her suspicions had only been further confirmed. She had been  _delighted_  to be the one with the honor of waking the two on Christmas morning, when they hadn’t come down before nine o’clock. They didn’t know much about Louis’ Christmas habits, but Harry had always been extremely excited on Christmas morning, waking up at around six, and watching TV in the living room, eyeing the presents until the designated 8:30 am present opening time. That day, when 8:30 had come and gone, and then 8:45, and then 9:00, they had begun to get worried. So Gemma had been tasked with waking them so they could begin opening presents.

She had crept up the stairs, eased their door open, and snuck up to the bed, fully prepared to jump on Harry and startle him awake. The empty blow up mattress on the floor at the foot of the bed should have struck her as odd, as she passed, but she hadn’t taken any notice. Once she had reached the side of the bed, poised to spring on him, she stopped dead. There, on the bed, were Harry and Louis, wrapped tightly around each other. Her jaw dropped, her heart stopped, and her stomach flopped. After a moment of watching them sleep peacefully, she got over her shock. A euphoric smile lit up her face, and her stomach filled with butterflies. She had to clamp a hand over her mouth to contain the elated giggle that bubbled up in her throat. She swallowed it and a squeal came out instead. Quickly she pulled out her phone, snapping a picture, before hurrying back downstairs. When her mum asked why Harry and Louis weren’t with her, she had merely beamed and presented her mother with her cell phone, where the picture of Harry and Louis had been set as her background. Her mother had beamed delightedly (she was on Gemma’s side) and set about making breakfast, the three of them deciding to wait for Harry and Louis to surface by themselves.

Harry and Louis had stumbled into the kitchen at promptly 1:07 pm. The side of Harry’s face was creased, and Louis’ hair was a mess. Harry had glared groggily at everyone in the kitchen, grunting as he plopped into a seat at the kitchen table. Louis blinked blearily and followed Harry to the table, pulling his seat closer, and dropping his head into Harry’s lap, disappearing beneath the table. Harry’s hand automatically disappeared as well, the movements of his arm, above the table, showing that he was stroking Louis’ head. Anne had hid a smile behind her hand, while Gemma had snickered blatantly. Robin merely smirked.

“ _Why did you let us sleep so late? It’s Christmas, and now my head feels like a cabbage.”_  Harry had whined. Gemma had grinned and shrugged.

“ _Well, I went up to wake you guys up at around nine, but you two had looked **so**  peaceful, I couldn’t bear to disturb you.” _Gemma had replied sweetly. Harry had rolled his eyes and looked down as Louis shifted a little bit. A soft little smile lit up his face, and the rest of the family had watched amusedly as he bent down to press a sweet kiss to Louis’ hair. Gemma had gone teary eyed, choking again, as she had when she had seen them asleep.

Later, while Louis had been talking by the tree with Anne, Harry had gotten up to get him a cup of tea. Gemma had followed him into the kitchen, were she had promptly asked Harry whether or not he and Louis were dating. Harry had spluttered on his glass of water, blushing beat red, and vehemently denying her suggestion. Gemma had raised a disappointed eyebrow and said nothing more on the matter.

Harry had gone home with Louis for the next few holidays, so Gemma had to rely on what she saw in interviews and on the internet. When Harry had brought Louis home for his birthday, declaring that he had invited Louis’ mum and sisters down for the weekend, Gemma realized that Harry and Louis had only grown  _closer_  in the time since she’d last seen them. She hadn’t thought that was even  _possible._  But it  _was._  The Friday afternoon before Louis’ family was supposed to come down, Harry and Louis had spent  _together_. Harry hadn’t seen his mum, or Gemma, for  _weeks_ , and he had decided to spend his time with  _Louis_ , who he was  _living_  with. They had lain on the couch together, Harry laying on his back against the armrest, Louis sprawled across his chest, in between his legs, Harry’s arm wrapped around his back.

Gemma had joined them briefly, but had gotten an uncomfortable feeling, like she was intruding on something private. So, naturally, she checked back on them frequently, finding them in the same position for the most part. At one point she had gone in to find Louis sitting with his feet propped up on the coffee table, Harry fast asleep with his head in his lap. She had grinned knowingly at Louis as he stroked Harry’s hair absently. He had looked up at her and blushed, which had only made her grin wider. He had made a shooing motion with his free hand, to which she had answered with “surrender hands”, before stepping out of the room.

The next day, Louis’ family arrived. Harry had been in the shower when Louis’ mum and sisters had come in, which the twins had been devastated to learn. They were in the kitchen chatting when Harry had walked in. Delighted squeals echoed around the room as Daisy, Phoebe, and Felicity had launched themselves at Harry. He had laughed and scooped them up into a group hug. After listening to the twins chatter at him for a minute about what he had missed, he had moved forward and given Lottie and Georgia their hugs, before embracing Jay.

Jay had given him a huge grin and squeezed him tightly, making a joke about how Harry had captured the hearts of  _all_  the Tomlinsons. Harry had grinned a little, answering that they had stolen  _his_ , as he pulled back, before walking over to where Louis was standing a few feet away. He had wrapped his arms around his friend from behind, sticking his hands in Louis’ front pockets, and resting his chin on his shoulder. Louis’ hand had automatically made its way into Harry’s hair, but other than that Louis hadn’t acknowledged Harry’s appearance. Gemma realized, then, watching them, that for Louis to be so unfazed by Harry’s move that he hadn’t noticed, Harry would have to do that a lot. She sidled up to Jay, greeting her with a quick hello, before getting right down to business.

“ _Do they do that a lot?”_  Jay had smiled at her, knowing what she was talking about.

“ _From what I’ve seen, yeah. But you might want to ask the other boys when they get here, they’re more likely to know.”_  Gemma had nodded, bidding her goodbye as her mother waved her over. She had every intention of asking the other boys.

Niall, Liam, and Zayn had all shown up that afternoon, all of them having stayed at Liam’s house the night before, and planning to head back after the party, seeing as Liam lived the closest to Harry. They had greeted Harry and Louis with slaps on the back, wishing Harry a happy birthday. Gemma found this intriguing: she had assumed, based on Harry and Louis’ interactions, that the other boys would greet their friends with a kiss on the cheek, like Harry and Louis always did. She decided to speak to Liam first, as he had been the sharpest of the remaining three when they had spent the first week here before the X Factor.

“ _Are Harry and Louis together?”_ Liam’s face lit up as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

“ _Oh, thank God, I thought I was the only one who’d noticed! No, they’re not together, but they do act like it. You know they share a bed?”_

“ _Yeah, they stayed here during Christmas. I went upstairs to wake them up and they were all tangled up together!”_

“ _Yeah, they stayed over mine two weeks ago, and we didn’t have enough room for everyone to get their own bed. They volunteered immediately. We had to go upstairs and get them because they weren’t coming down, and they were spooning.”_

“ _Have you noticed that when the other is in the room it’s like it’s only those two? They don’t see anyone else!”_

“ _Tell me about it! They look at each other like they hold all the secrets of the world.”_

“ _Oh, I know! And they’re always touching! Harry’ll shift one way and Louis automatically adjusts so that they’re still touching. Harry does the same thing!”_

“ _And they always go with each other on holidays! They never go separately. Simon will tell us we’ve got another holiday coming up, and in the car on the way home, Harry and Louis’ll be talking about who’s turn it is to go home!”_

“ _I noticed that as well! And whenever I’m on the phone with Harry, all he talks about is what he and Louis have been up to. Occasionally he’ll mention the band, but whenever I try to start a conversation about something else, he always brings it back to Louis! He’s like a girl with a crush.”_

“ _Are you gonna do something about it?”_

“ _I want to. But I think for right now, I’m just going to observe. We’ll see. If they can’t get themselves together by July, we’ll start doing something. Until then, just drop hints about how close they are, or make jokes about them being in love. Plant the idea, then let them do the rest of the work.”_

“ _Sounds like a plan.”_

They had then headed back into the dining room, where everyone had gathered around Harry, who was seated at the head of the table. Louis had perched himself on the armrest of the Harry’s chair, whispering excitedly into his friend’s ear. They had looked up as everyone had started singing, and Anne had walked in with the cake, candles lit. Louis had wrapped his arms around Harry’s shoulders as Anne set the cake in front of them, singing obnoxiously loud in Harry’s ear. There was a round of applause as the song finished. Harry screwed his eyes shut, tightly, before blowing out the candles. Everyone cheered, Louis bending down to press a sloppy kiss to Harry’s cheek. Harry had only grinned up at his friend.

“ _Did you make a wish, Harry?”_  Daisy had asked, innocently. Harry had smiled at her, glancing at Louis before answering in the affirmative.

Everyone had then moved back into the living room, where Harry and Louis sat next to each other on the couch. Harry was handed present after present, opening gift cards, t-shirts, and jackets. Finally, Louis handed him his final present. Harry looked at him for a minute, before slowly tearing open the wrapping paper. Harry had choked a little, his eyes watering. He grinned at Louis, leaning over to kiss his cheek. Louis had blushed, grinning back, before wrapping Harry in a hug. Most of the guests had averted their eyes, feeling like they were intruding on something special. After they had pulled apart, Gemma had impatiently demanded to see what Louis had given him. Harry had turned the frame around, showing everyone.

 

Harry wouldn’t have cried if that had come from anyone else, Gemma knew. Which was what had made her decide, then and there, that she would make  _sure_  they got together in the end. They were too perfect.

Everyone had been milling around, socializing, after the presents had been opened. Harry and Louis had stayed curled together on the couch, whispering to each other and giggling. Daisy and Phoebe had gotten impatient with them keeping to themselves, and had clambered onto their laps. Daisy had curled her head under Harry’s chin, and Phoebe had rested her head on Louis’ chest. The girls had just lain there, listening to Harry and Louis talk to each other, looking around the room with sleepy eyes. Gemma’s heart had burst a little bit, quickly pulling out her phone and taking a picture.  _They look like a family_ , she thought, looking at them. _They’re like two gay dads._  She had watched them for another twenty minutes or so, Daisy and Phoebe’s eyes drooping a little more each minute, before they had finally drifted off. Louis had glanced down at his sister as he felt her go limp. Harry had nodded towards the door, Louis nodding back. They had stood up gingerly, each of them carrying one of the girls out of the room. Gemma remembered making eye contact with Liam, grinning back at him as he had smirked at her.

Jay had come over to her in a panic, about two hours later.

“ _Where are the twins?”_

“ _Last I saw, Harry and Louis were taking them upstairs, they were fast asleep.”  
_

“ _So, then where are Harry and Louis?”_  Gemma had been surprised at this question.

“ _Are they not back yet?”_  Jay had shaken her head, and Gemma had excused herself quickly before grabbing Liam and pulling him upstairs with her.

“ _Gemma, what are you doing? Where are we going?”_

“ _Harry and Louis haven’t come downstairs yet. Liam, they’ve been gone for two hours.”_ Liam had raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing more, following her without further complaint.

They had poked their heads through Harry’s bedroom door, finding the room empty. They had then moved to the guest room. They had eased the door open, and stopped dead. There on the double bed, Harry and Louis had been curled around the twins, the four of them fast asleep. Harry and Louis had been holding hands across the twins’ small bodies. Liam had looking down at Gemma to see her smiling through tears. He had nudged her, and she had smiled up at him, before pulling out her phone. They had then snuck out of the room, and Liam had looked at the picture on her phone.

“ _Honestly, Gemma, with the amount of pictures you’ve taken of them, you could fill an entire photo album.”_  Gemma had stopped at this, lost in thought.

“ _Maybe I should_. _”_

“ _Can I help you?”_

“ _Liam, I’d be delighted.”_

And that was how the Larry Book was formed. Gemma bought a big scrapbook, stickers, markers, whatever else you’d need if you wanted to take on scrap-booking, and began documenting Harry and Louis’ relationship as she saw it. Liam sent her pictures every week, and clips of magazines and news papers that he thought should be included. Every Friday night at eight thirty, Liam would phone Gemma and regale her with the tales of her brother and his prince charming. Gemma kept a close eye on the tabloids as well, watching every interview and analyzing every move of Harry and Louis’.

The One Direction boys had a month off in July, which Gemma was ecstatic to hear. She had instantly rung Harry, telling him to invite all the rest of the boys to come home with him. They had all agreed to come back for the last week, Harry and Louis coming home a week early, as they would be spending the first two weeks with the Tomlinsons.

Liam was the first to arrive the last week. Gemma had immediately pulled him into the kitchen, recapping the last week for him. She told him that Harry had seemed sad, and that Louis had been clinging to him more because of it. She told him how Harry’s smile dropped every time Louis pulled his phone out to answer a text. Liam had sighed at this.

“ _Louis’ got a girlfriend. Her name’s Eleanor.”_

“ _ **What?**  Why didn’t you tell me sooner? How’s Harry been taking it?”_ Liam had shaken his head.

“ _Not well. They had a huge fight after Eleanor had walked in on them cuddling on the couch. Neither of them had realized that their relationship would be a problem. They’ve been really distant with each other, because Eleanor doesn’t approve. They’ve stopped sleeping in the same bed, and honestly, I think it’s killing both of them. Harry has hardly gotten any sleep since they stopped, and I doubt Louis’ much better. It makes sense that they’d be trying to get as much touching in now, before this is all over and they have to go back to the real world.”_ Gemma’s heart had broken hearing that her brother was being hurt like that. Liam and Gemma had made a deal, each of them would talk to one of the two boys in question. It was a critical time: this could make or break their relationship, and if something wasn’t done about it, then Eleanor would drive them apart.

That night, Gemma had called Harry into the kitchen after dinner, leaving the four other boys outside to talk.

“You are so  _frustrating!”_  Harry snorted at his sister’s outburst.

“And why is that?” Gemma glared at him. He could see her gearing up for a long-winded explanation, and braced himself for what was coming.

“When are you going to learn that what you need is  _right in front of your face?”_  Harry looked her knowingly. He knew what this was about.

“Gemma, will you  _please_  stop this nonsense? Louis and I are  _not_  together!”

“I  _know_  that! That’s my point, Harry! You’re  _in love_  with him, and he’s in love with you as well. You’re wasting time dancing around each other! You need to man up, and  _tell him how you feel_  before it’s too late!” Gemma’s voice had risen steadily as she talked. Harry answered at a matching volume.

“You know what Gemma!? I’m  _not_  in love with him. He’s my  _best mate_! I  _love_  him, with my whole heart, he’s everything to me. But I’m  _not_  in love with him!”

“Harry, that is absolute  _bullshit_. You  _sleep together_ , you go home together, you live together, you kiss each other’s cheeks, and you’re  _always_  touching. You’re jealous of his girlfriend, you make jokes about being in love with each other, and you look at each other like you are everything the other ever wanted. Like the world could be falling apart around you and you wouldn’t care or notice because you’re too wrapped up in him. Let me tell you, Harry: that is _not_  heterosexual  _or_  platonic behavior.”

“It doesn’t matter, Gemma! It  _does not matter!_  It’s me and Louis, we can be however we want! I can sleep with him, and touch him, and kiss him, and live with him  _if I want to._  And you know what!? It wouldn’t even matter if I was in love with him, because  _he’s straight_ , and he  _has a girlfriend_.”

“So you are in love with him?”

“Didn’t I just say it didn’t matter?”

“It  _does_  matter, Harry. If you love him, you have to  _tell_  him, because he’s not gonna break up with his girlfriend if he doesn’t have a reason! Harry, I see the way he looks at you. He’s in love with you, too! You two were always just too  _obtuse_  to see it! It’s fucking frustrating!”

“ _Fine._ Have it your way then. Yes, Gemma, yes. I, Harry Edward Styles, am in love with Louis William Tomlinson. But I can’t  _tell_  him that, because he’s straight, and he has a girlfriend, and he  _does not love me back_.”

“Says who?” Both Harry and Gemma’s heads whipped around quickly to look at the doorway. There, looking close to tears, was Louis. Harry gulped and stared blankly back at him.

“I think we need to talk, Harry.”


End file.
